


Cassius Middlemarch, Vampire Detective

by destielsimpala



Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Everyone Is Gay, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Magic, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-26 03:01:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13848687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destielsimpala/pseuds/destielsimpala
Summary: Cassius Middlemarch, vampire detective. At least that’s what he called himself. As far as head boy Cassius was concerned, it was a wonderful title. Matthias Winters, his shorty, dorky roommate, had scoffed when he had seen it written on the inside page of a journal Cassius had left on his bed in a rush to class. A tall, athletic boy from a prestigious family, he was destined for greatness. His parents had despaired when they found out his career choice. They wanted him to be on the Magique Council, but who wants to sit in a dusty room and discuss nonsense all day? When he told his mother this, she nearly passed out from shock. “Sitting on the council is a family tradition!”, she had screeched, before turning paler than usual (a hard feat when you’re a vampire).





	Cassius Middlemarch, Vampire Detective

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell. I'm soft for Basilton Pitch and his chaotic good boyfriend Simon Snow.

Cassius regretted not wearing slippers.   
The flagstones of the Keep were cold at the best of times, but most of all at night. In the middle of December. Every shallow breath Cassius took clouded in front of his face. He shivered in his silk pyjamas. It wasn’t just the cold, either. His legs were beginning to ache from crouching behind the heavy curtain. I know it comes this way, it’s the way the hair leads, Cassius thought. Just as he was about to give up and return to his warm bed, hurried footsteps passed by, heading in the direction of the stairs. They lead to the top of the Keep, the tower used to house messenger birds. The steady breeze coming through the open window behind Cassius blew at the stray black curls that had escaped his bun. “Stay,” he whispered, and the hairs tucked themselves back behind his ears. He waited behind the curtain a few moments longer- it wasn’t worth risking the creature seeking him out, not after weeks of arduous research. Satisfied that he was long gone, Cassius emerged from behind the curtain. He muttered a “Hush,” to silence his footsteps, and began to scale the stairs.   
**  
Cassius Middlemarch, vampire detective. At least that’s what he called himself. As far as he was concerned, it was a wonderful title. His roommate Matthias Winters, a short boy with a quiff of light blonde hair and hazel eyes, had scoffed when he had seen it written on the inside page of his roommate’s journal. Cassius- a tall, athletic boy from a prestigious family- was destined for greatness. His parents had despaired when they found out his career choice. They wanted him to be on the Magique Council, but who wants to sit in a dusty room and discuss nonsense all day? When he told his mother she nearly passed out from shock. “Sitting on the council is a family tradition!”, she had screeched, before turning paler than usual (a hard feat when you’re a vampire). Cassius wasn’t one for tradition, though. He grew his curly, pitch-black hair almost all the way down his back, and held it in place most of the time by a scrunchie stolen from his sister’s dressing table. He spent most of the time outside lessons in a leather jacket, a vape pen clasped in his ring-adorned right hand. He had piercings of all kinds in his ears, on his nose and lips, and a stick and poke tattoo of a cat on his left wrist. Cassius was surprised the ink had even held, to be honest. As an aspiring detective, he always had his eye out for anything weird. Strange shit was always happening at Fillegrade, and he saw it as his responsibility to seek out its source.  
One of these strange things occurred on a cold Thursday morning, after Magical Lore. Cassius had his arm draped over Matthias’s shoulder as they climbed the stairs to their dorm.  
“Professor Calcliff really enjoys giving homework, doesn’t she?” Cassius sighed, dreading the two pages he had to write up on the history of nymphs in Great Britain. Matthias laughed at the other boy’s despair.  
“I think it’s fascinating! I love researching magical creatures!” he said, beaming widely. Cassius grinned.  
“Course you do, you utter dork,” he replied, ruffling the shorter boy’s mop of blonde hair. Just as they reached the top step, Cassius noticed a bunch of long, straw-like ginger hairs on the stone floor. As he stooped down to inspect them, he heard the creak of the dorm door opening. He looked up and saw Matthias going in. He turned to look at Cassius, who frowned up at him.  
“What? It’s too damn cold to stay out here,” he replied, winking, before closing the door behind him. Cassius just sighed. He pulled a glass phial from his pocket and used his wand to twirl the hairs together and drop them in it. He replaced the phial into his pocket and went into the dorm to join Matthias.   
**  
“I’m telling you, these aren’t normal hairs!” he protested to Matthias, who was huddled under a red chequered blanket with Cassius, reading a textbook. It was the early evening, after class and dinner was over.   
“Cass, a merman in the river at the bottom of the field winked at me last week. Think nothing of it,” he said, averting his eyes from the astronomy book to look at the pale boy, whose head was rested on his shoulder. He kissed Cassius, who continued to look indignant, on the forehead.   
“Anyway, you reek of deer, dear. Go for a bloody bath, before you stink up my bed,” Matthias said, making a face of mock disgust at his boyfriend. Cassius huffed and got off the bed, turning to thumb his nose, before closing the bathroom door behind him.  
**  
A month later, here he was, stalking a creature with long ginger hair, in the bitterly cold Keep, on the edge of campus. This better be something bloody interesting, Cassius thought, climbing the winding staircase of the tower, his feet burning with the cold of the flagstones. He was going to sit by the fire for a hell of a long time after this. The stairs seemed to go on forever, and his legs were in enough pain as it was. Finally, he rounded the corner to the top of the tower. The heavy wooden door was ajar, and the vampire peeked in. The creature was hard to identify- the room was dark, apart from the moonlight leaking through the window in the far corner. It looked distracted, facing the opposite way to the boy. Only one way to find out what the heck you are. He stepped into the room. The creature turned. It had noticed Cassius.   
“Shit,” the boy muttered. Werewolf. Werewolf. He was trapped up a tower. With a werewolf. It came closer. His eyes moved from the face of the creature to the open window on the far side of the room. There were two ways this could end, Cassius thought. Either he would be mauled by this werewolf, which the boy noticed had a vaguely familiar scar on its face, or he could jump out the window into the lake below.  
The werewolf began to run. So did Cassius. Oh well, at least I’ll heal quickly, he thought. The vampire reached the open window, and he jumped. The cold air rushed past his face, and he hit the water.  
**  
The sun was shining through the large window at the end of the hospital wing when Cassius awoke. He squinted, sitting up. Pain shot through his body, and he doubled over, groaning. Looking to his bedside, he saw a figure wrapped in a red chequered blanket. He rubbed his eyes, and the figure became clearer. Cassius chuckled softly- Matthias was huddled up on a rickety wooden chair, his hair mussed up by sleep. He’s probably been there for hours, Cassius thought, warmth filling his chest at the thought of the gesture. Alongside cards and gifts, his scrunchie lay on the bedside table, still soggy. He ran his hands through his knotted hair, making a mental note to buy his sister another- pondwater wasn’t the best look.   
“You’re awake, finally!” the groggy voice of Matthias made Cassius turn to look at him.   
“Says you, mop head,” Cassius teased. Matthias pouted, and cast a “Neaten!” to fix his bed hair. Cassius rolled his eyes. “You’re so vain,” he said. The boy opposite him flicked his hair to the side, winking. The young vampire laughed, but soon stopped.  
“Now look what you’ve done! Your beauty will be the death of me,” he said, attempting to arrange his pillows to sit up. Seeing his boyfriend’s struggle, Matthias rose from the chair and helped him, kissing him softly afterwards. Red rose to the vampire’s cheeks; the gesture was a welcome surprise. Feeling Cassius smiling, Matthias continued to kiss him. He deepened the kiss, taking the boy’s face in his hands gently. He moved to sit on Cassius’s lap, taking care to not hurt his legs or chest. Matthias gave a soft moan, moving his hands up into his boyfriend’s hair. Cassius gasped, and pulled him closer. He’s the most beautiful being on Earth, the boy thought. Their lips broke apart for a moment.  
“You truly are a fucking masterpiece, Matthias Winters,” The pale boy breathed, in awe at sight of his ruffled hair, his blushed cheeks- his everything.   
“Boys,”  
Matthias got off the bed, face still aflush, and looked at the man stood a few metres from the end of the bed. Cassius pushed his hair behind his ears and sat up properly. His eyes widened when he met the gaze of Professor Fairstone, his music teacher. Then he realised- the scar that ran up his left cheek, over his eye, and on to his forehead.  
“I believe we need to talk, Master Middlemarch.”


End file.
